Mongolia Gobi Desert Tour and Karakorum Ruins

Mongolia tours with free WiFi during your trip – leave it to a local specialist travel company. 

Phone: +976-7000-0558

Contact us for advice and quotes on local Mongolia toursEmail:info@nomadmongolia.com

Mongolia Travel, Mongolia Tours, Mongolia Sightseeing

 Gobi Desert by 4WD, Khongor Sand Dunes and World Heritage Karakorum, 8-Day Tour

8 Days / 7 Nights Tour MO-42

Duration8 days / 7 nights
AccommodationStandard hotel / ger
Meals7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 6 dinners
GuideEnglish guide
Price2 people: $1,830
Departure pointChinggis Khaan Airport

Overview

Tour codeMO-42
Number of days8 days / 7 nights
Departure pointChinggis Khaan Airport
AccommodationStandard hotel / ger
Meals7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 6 dinners
Hotel usedStandard room
Local guideEnglish guide
Minimum number of participantsFrom 1 person
Booking methodBook online
Local tour price2 people: $1,830

Itinerary

DayScheduleMealsAccommodation
1
Day
Ulaanbaatar
Transport: private car

Depart Narita or Haneda. Connect in Seoul to Ulaanbaatar.

The English-speaking guide takes you to the hotel.

Dinner: not includedCity hotel🏨
2
Day
Ulaanbaatar → South Gobi
Transport: private car

At 08:00 enjoy a car journey.

To Dalanzadgad in the South Gobi, about 6 hours.

Afternoon, Yolyn Am Valley and the Gobi Nature Museum.

Yolyn Am Valley is a place where a thick glacial layer and splendid green pasture coexist. In summer rain, waterfalls sometimes appear from the rocks. It is also famous for letting you see a great variety of animals and plants up close.

Breakfast: ○
Lunch: ○
Dinner: ○
Stay at a tourist camp⛺
3
Day
South Gobi → Khongor Sand Dunes
Transport: private car

After breakfast, head to the great Khongor Sand Dunes, boasting the greatest height in Mongolia. (220 km from South Gobi Airport, about 4–5 hours) After arriving, a picnic at the Khongor dunes. Sightseeing at the great Khongor dunes. Also ride camels. Among the many dunes of the Gobi Desert, the one of incomparable scale is the great Khongor dune, 220 km from the South Gobi. These great dunes boast a height of 800 m and a width of 3.5 km, the tallest in Mongolia. Please enjoy the moving desert scenery.

Breakfast: ○
Lunch: ○
Dinner: ○
Stay at a tourist camp⛺
4
Day
Khongor Sand Dunes → Ongi Monastery
Transport: private car

After breakfast, head to Bayanzag by private car. See the Bayanzag cliffs where dinosaurs were discovered.

Move to Ongi Monastery in the Central Gobi.

Breakfast: ○
Lunch: ○
Dinner: ○
Stay at a tourist camp⛺
5
Day
Ongi Monastery → Karakorum
Transport: private car

Morning: after seeing Ongi Monastery, move to Karakorum, about 5 hours. After arriving at Karakorum, sightseeing at the World Heritage Karakorum ruins. (Erdene Zuu, Turtle Rock, Karakorum Museum)

Breakfast: ○
Lunch: ○
Dinner: ○
Tourist Camps⛺
6
Day
Karakorum → Burd
Transport: private car

In the morning, leave Karakorum sightseeing and move to Burd on the grand steppe, about 1.2 hours.

Afternoon, horse riding experience. Receive an explanation from the nomads and set out on a riding experience with your horse onto the grand steppe. Enjoy the horse riding experience. Nomad homestay.

Breakfast: ○
Lunch: ○
Dinner: ○
Nomad's ger⛺
7
Day
Burd → Ulaanbaatar
Transport: private car

Morning: move from Burd to Ulaanbaatar.

Afternoon: Ulaanbaatar city sightseeing. Gandan Monastery, the Dinosaur Museum, Chinggis Khaan Square, Zaisan Hill and more.

At 18:00 enjoy a performance by the Mongolian traditional music orchestra.

Breakfast: ○
Lunch: ○
Dinner: ○
City hotel🏨
8
Day
Ulaanbaatar
Transport: private car

By private car to Chinggis Khaan Airport for your send-off. Thank you for your hard work.

Breakfast: ○-

*Itinerary and times may change depending on weather and road conditions.

Highlights and Information

People who do not know the Gobi Desert tend to imagine a barren desert without a blade of grass, like the Sahara, but the real Mongolian Gobi has various types. "Gobi" in Mongolian means land with sparse short grass, and although the image is of a barren desert without a single plant, the desert actually makes up only 25% of the country's area. In this land camel herding is most common. Many dinosaur fossils have also been excavated here, stirring romance for the ancient past. The Moltsog dunes, about 50 km north of the South Gobi airfield, offer scenery exactly like the image Japanese people have of the Gobi Desert.

Mongolia Khongor Sand Dunes

Guest room

The Gobi Desert spreads across southern Mongolia. Much of it is desert with pebbles and low shrubs, but about 200 km from South Gobi, large sand dunes suddenly appear. The dunes, which continue like mountains as far as you can see, are more than about 50 m high. At the foot of the dunes there is a rare landscape with grassland, grass and short trees growing, and small rivers flowing. You often see camels trekking with tourists. This course lets you enjoy the moving scenery of these dunes, said to be No. 1 in Mongolia. Of course you also stay in a ger from which you can see the dunes. Staying in great nature with no man-made objects as far as you can see makes you completely forget daily life. In slow-flowing time, stroll across the dunes on a camel, and at night look up at the starry sky, and you will truly feel embraced by Mongolian nature.

Yolyn Am Valley

Guest room

In the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan Mountains there is a beautiful place called Yolyn Am. Yolyn Am means "Valley of the Eagles" in Mongolian. Indeed eagles fly above the valley, and you can understand the name. The valley is at a high altitude of 2,200 m, and snow remains here even in early summer. In midsummer the snow melts, but the valley without snow is cool and pleasant. On a hot summer day it is fun to walk on the ice in the valley. Wild sheep and goats, wolves, Gobi bears, vultures and wild asses also live here.


Karakorum Ruins

Guest room

Mongolia has many highlights besides the steppe. In the cultural landscape area known as the Orkhon Valley, many ruins and historic sites remain, and the most famous is the Karakorum ruins. When the Mongol and Turkic nomads who have long lived in Mongolia founded their states, they chose the Orkhon River basin for their capitals. Chinggis Khaan also ordered the capital of the Mongol Empire to be established there. By his order, the city of Karakorum was built in 1235, and it is famous for having been, for a time, the center of the world. Erdene Zuu of the Karakorum ruins is one of Mongolia's World Heritage Sites. Suddenly appearing in the steppe, the ruins consist of 108 striking white stupas and outer walls surrounding the Buddhist temple, a group of monasteries with a long history in Mongolia. A little walk from the ruins is Turtle Rock, and the site where the "Karakorum History Museum" was built by a joint project of the Mongolian Cabinet and JICA with Japanese ODA.

Burd on the Steppe

Burd (Elsen Tasarkhai Desert) is located 280 km west of Ulaanbaatar and is the central point of Mongolia. It is a place of superb scenery where grassland, rocky mountains, streams, lakes and ponds lie together. Burd, with its typically Mongolian steppe rich in flowers, is the gateway for sightseeing. The nomads have long worshipped Mount Khugnu Khan in the north of Burd, which is now protected as a "protected area" and is home to rare animals and plants.The magnificent hills, as if laid with a carpet, form a grand panorama like a landscape painting. It is also famous as a producer of Mongolian horses. On the way from Ulaanbaatar to Burd, the Tuul River flows past endless steppe, beautiful flower fields and herds of sheep, cattle and horses, with plenty of photo opportunities. The Burd camp is also the base camp for Karakorum, the old capital of the Mongol Empire.

Tour Points and Schedule Guide



*The above itinerary and times may change locally depending on weather and traffic congestion on the day. In that case, please follow the instructions of the local staff. We appreciate your understanding.
*Meals may become box lunches, and the hotel / restaurant / ger may each be changed.
Sightseeing Map
Local Mongolia Tour Points
  • The above price is the per-person price when the tour runs with2people. Depending on the number of participants, a more economical price plan may be available.
  • Accommodation is the hotel listed above or a hotel of equivalent class.
  • In Ulaanbaatar city hotels, two people normally share one room.
  • If one person uses a room alone, an additional charge of $40 per night applies.
  • At tourist camps, rooms (gers) are normally shared by 2–4 people.
  • If you use a tourist camp ger as a single, an additional charge of $25 per night applies.
  • An English-speaking guide stays with you throughout, and a professional licensed driver is arranged.
  • The vehicle is a private vehicle suited to the number of people: sedan, minibus, 4WD, etc.
  • Meals: as stated in the itinerary (standard three-course meals)
  • Sightseeing and meals may change due to local conditions such as weather or flight delays.
  • We also accept requests for additional arrangements such as extra nights, a private guide or a private car, and for hotel specification or upgrades.
    *Please consult us when booking.
  • We can arrange Mongolia flight tickets. If you wish, please clickMongolia discount flight tickets.
  • Based on this itinerary, we can also arrange extending your stay or adding destinations. Please feel free to consult us.

Operating conditions and notes

Booking deadline

For tour bookings, please book at least 15 days before departure (excluding public holidays). If a booking is made after that, we will first reply to you by email to confirm that we can reach each other reliably before we start the arrangements. Bookings 7 days or more before departure will be accommodated as far as possible, so please consult us. (Cancellation charges start from 10 days before, so please note.) Please check the usage guide before booking.

Price notes

This course operates from 2 people, but we can accept a booking for 1 person. In that case an additional charge for a one-person departure and a single-room supplement apply. Please ask us for the price of a one-person departure before booking.

Payment method

After you reserve by email and phone, we will send a travel confirmation and an invoice to your email address. After checking the invoice, transfer 50% of the tour price to our bank account. The booking becomes official after we confirm receipt. The remaining 50% is paid by bank transfer before the trip starts.

Included in the tour price

Meal costs and service charges stated in the itinerary
Accommodation costs and service charges stated in the itinerary
Sightseeing costs stated in the itinerary (guide fee, admission fees)
Domestic flights or free internet and water

Not included in the tour price

Round-trip international airfare or international train fare

Optional tour fees

Overseas travel insurance

Personal souvenirs

Beer, liquor and other alcoholic drinks

Cancellation fees

From 18:00 local time 10 business days before the tour date to 18:00 local time 8 business days before: 20% of the total booking amount

From 18:00 local time 7 business days before the tour date to 18:00 local time 5 business days before: 30% of the total booking amount

From 18:00 local time 4 business days before the tour date to 18:00 local time 2 business days before: 40% of the total booking amount

From 18:00 local time 2 business days before the tour date to 1 business day before: 50% of the total booking amount

On the tour date: 100% of the total booking amount

 


How to Book

How to Book

1. Inquiry
Please tell us your dates, number of people and flight information.

2. Itinerary and quote
We will send you an itinerary and a quote.

3. Booking
Please send a copy of your passport (up to 15 days before departure).

4. Travel confirmation and invoice
We will send you a travel confirmation and an invoice.

5. Payment
Transfer 50% of the invoiced amount (the booking is confirmed after we confirm receipt). Please transfer the remaining 50% before departure.

For participation conditions, cancellation rules and more, please seeMongolia Travel Guide/Basic Information.

Other Recommended Tours

Booking and Inquiries

Please feel free to contact us even if your dates and number of people are not decided yet.Quotes are free.

A memorable journey in Mongolia.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Shine Zuuch Travel Tel: 976-70000558 Mobile: 976-99095525 (English OK)
E-mail:info@nomadmongolia.com

Mongolia Tours